The 2021-21 school year has been on fraught with challenges and obstacles. Despite the changing learning environments, educators remained staunchly dedicated to the profession as they worked to meet the varied needs of students. While the next academic year will surely present its own set of challenges as we hopefully return to a sense of normalcy, this summer is the time to recover, recharge, and prepare for what's ahead.

With that in mind, I want to remind you of the upcoming National Board events that NYSUT has planned for July and August. I hope you can join us for these exciting sessions!

NBPTS has a new National Board Certification Program Building Toolkit that was finalized in June. NYSUT and NBPTS are offering an informational webinar on Tuesday, July 13 at 3:00 pm to introduce this valuable toolkit along with how it can be used.

NYSUT's National Board Professional Learning Facilitator Training will provide facilitators with the tools to engage candidates in the systematic study of accomplished teaching and provide support through the National Board Certification process. This training will use the vast framework of free materials shared by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

The training will be differentiated to meet the needs of various audiences as illustrated below:
1) facilitators without any previous experience in the National Board process will attend Days 1, 2, and 3;
2) facilitators experienced or certified in the previous National Board certification process will complete an asynchronous CANVAS module prior to Day 2, then attend both Day 2 PM session and all of Day 3; or
3) facilitators experienced or certified in the current National Board certification process will attend both Day 2 PM and all of Day 3

Participants will engage in rich, deep, collaborative conversations; become familiar with resources; and explore high quality materials that can be brought back, in a virtual setting and be tailored to meet their candidates' contextual needs.

As you know, states and districts are receiving a significant amount of money from the federal government to help students and schools recover from the pandemic. Now, at a time when it is more important than ever for students to have access to high-quality teachers, we want districts to know they can use the COVID-relief funds to increase student access to National Board Certified Teachers.

Here is a new resource from the National Board that provides recommendations on how districts can use COVID-relief funds to stabilize the teacher workforce and help students recover from the pandemic. Recommendations include:

• Provide grants for teachers to defray the cost of Board Certification in order to grow the number of National Board Certified Teachers.
• Provide incentives to National Board Certified Teachers to teach in schools with students facing the most severe consequences from the pandemic.
• Provide professional development based on National Board Standards using the ATLAS Library.

Share this new resource with your district leaders and encourage them to use COVID-relief funds to increase students’ access to National Board Certified Teachers.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has a number of resources available to individuals and organizations interested in supporting teachers through the Board Certification process. All of these free resources have been developed by Board Certified teachers with extensive experience supporting teachers to and through the process. What follows is a brief overview of these free resources based on your role in the process.

The Professional Learning Facilitator Training Course is a collection of resources and guided learning activities for individuals or groups interested in supporting educators pursuing Board certification. These materials were derived from the PLF Training Materials developed in partnership with an instructional design team composed of National Board Certified Teachers, National Education Association, National Board Resource Center at Stanford, and American Institute of Research.

Modules in this course include:

• Working with Adult Learners,

• Facilitating with an Equity Lens,

• Ethics and Facilitating Candidates,

• Understanding Scoring, and Providing Effective Feedback to Candidates

To access this course, please register here.

There are two course Canvas courses that you can download to use for in-person, virtual, or hybrid support programs. You can use the courses as they have been developed or pick and choose resources and strategies to embed that support your needs. You can access more information on these resources here.

1. Preparing for National Board Certification for Support Providers: This course was developed by the Stanford National Board Resource Center (NBRC) for teachers pursuing National Board Certification. This course is populated with videos, tools, and resources to support facilitators build or adapt support programs. The course is free and easy to adapt to meet the needs of the teachers you are supporting and/or the system you are designing.

1. National Board MOC Course Template: This course is designed as a template to be used by those supports for teachers working on their Maintenance of Certification.

NBPTS has made available a number of Canvas courses for teachers interested in pursuing National Board Certification. Teachers can self-enroll in these courses and engage with the content at their own pace. More information on those courses can be found here under the section “Self-Guided Courses for Candidates”.

National Board Certification: Overview and Quick Start Guide: This resource packet is organized with the essential resources for teachers considering National Board Certification.

National Board Certification: Candidate Resource Guide: This Candidate Resource Guide that includes the key certification documents and additional resources (webinar recordings, free Canvas course, two or three year pathway guides, and graphic organizers) to support candidates on the National Board Certification journey.

Email: elt@nysut.org
Website: elt.nysut.org
Location: 800 Troy Schenectady Rd, Latham, NY, USA
Phone: 518-625-1982
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NYSUTEducationAndLearningTrust
Twitter: @nysutelt